US stocks mixed after ADP jobs report

US stocks Wednesday opened mixed as investors looked ahead to Friday's monthly labor market report following moderate job growth data in the private sector. Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 17.94 points (0.11 percent) to 16,514.67. The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 1.61 (0.09 percent) to 1,883.91, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 8.17 (0.19 percent) to 4,276.21. Payrolls firm ADP said US businesses added 191,000 jobs in March, below the 215,000 projected by analysts but an improvement on the 178,000 figure for February. Analysts expect Friday's report to show the US added 195,000 jobs in March, picking up the pace of job growth from 175,000 in February. US stocks have risen for three straight days, in part due to better economic data and reassurance from the Federal Reserve that a shift in its extraordinary support for the economy is not imminent.